Nishiki no Mai
by YYuuuukkaannddaa
Summary: Gakuko is a young girl living in a village named Mai that hides within the Nishiki Empire. Her father was killed in war, and she lives with her mother, who hides the secret of Gakuko's father, saying that his name is disgraced. Soon Gakuko will have to learn of the true terror of the Empire's emperor. Revenge or Destruction? Which will triumph? A mad ravens sings somewhere...
1. The Daily Life of Gakuko

Author Note: **PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING~!** I decided to try writing a story where I get to choose the characters' personalities and etc, so I came up with the idea to write a Vocaloid story. I hope it goes well! This story is lightly based off of the Gakupo and Gakuko song, Nishiki no Mai, hence the name. So enjoy! For people who don't know who Gakuko is, she is Gakupo's gender-bent. So basically, the girl version of Gakupo. Also, while reading the story, you may see this symbol next to some words "*". That just means that I'm going to explain those words at the end the end of the chapter for people who don't know what those words mean, or I need to explain why I used that word instead of a different one. So please, don't be bothered by them. And also, I'm going to have character profiles at the end of each chapter in the author note. So please read those as well. I also tend to use the Japanese name suffixes like "-chan", "-kun", "-sama", etc... NOW... Please Read and Review!

Summary: Gakuko is a young girl living in a small village named Mai that hides between the mountains of the Oni mountain range within the Nishiki Empire. Her father was killed in war, and she lives with her mother, who hides the secret of Gakuko's father, saying that his name has been disgraced. Soon Gakuko will have to learn of the true terror of the Nishiki Empire's emperor. Revenge or Destruction? Scarlet or Azure? Which will triumph? A mad raven sings somewhere...

* * *

_I just wanted to protect that smile of hers. That's all I wanted. But I didn't think that my single wish would turn out this way... Now I'm alone again..._

* * *

_A long, long time ago, two demon princes, along with the rest of their family, lived together peacefully. That was until one of the demon princes destroyed the peaceful town, and stained the moon with blood. That demon prince was the azure-eyed demon that longed for destruction. But then the azure-eyed demon's younger sibling vowed revenge for the destruction of it's hometown. The younger demon was the scarlet-eyed demon that vowed revenge. When it seemed that revenge triumphed over destruction, scarlet turned into azure.  
And a mad raven sings somewhere..._

* * *

So here's the story of a young girl named Gakuko. She is unaware of her family name, and her father was killed in war. She lives with her mother in a small village called Mai that is located between the mountains of the Oni mountain range within the Nishiki Empire. She and the rest of her village hide there so that the large, powerful empire, Nishiki, won't find them living on their land. Gakuko has only heard stories of the terror of the Nishiki emperor. She's heard that you would lose your mind if you look directly into his eyes. But sooner or later she will have to learn the truth. The truth about the emperor of Nishiki...

* * *

"Gakuko-chan! Hurry up, we have to go now!" a voice shouted from outside.

"Just a second!" the violet-haired girl replied as she tied up her long hair into a ponytail. She ran out the bedroom door, stopped, and walked back in to get her bag. As she walked out again, she looked at an old picture frame that had a picture of a man who had long, dark, midnight-blue hair tied in a ponytail. "See ya later, Dad..."

"Gakuko-chan! Now!" her mother continued to yell.

"Coming!" Gakuko ran through the hallway and out the door. Outside her mother, Musashi, waited with an angered face.

"What in the world took you so long? You already know that I'm not very patient," Musashi pointed out, scornfully.

"Uh... I'm sorry?" Gakuko replied while scratching the back of her head.

"Is that an apology or a question?" Musashi asked, crossing her arms.

"Both?" Gakuko answered, obviously scared of what the outcome was going to be. Musashi glared at her with a killing intent. "B-Both! That is my answer," Gakuko said with fake confidence.

"Don't worry your little head Gakuko-chan, I wasn't going to hurt you. You worry so much. It reminds me of myself before I met your father," Musashi explained.

"I know you hate me asking, but why won't you tell me dad's name? I barely know anything about him... Why won't you tell me?" Gakuko pleaded.

"Your father's name has been disgraced, you shall never learn it, or who killed your father!" Musashi exclaimed with the sound of sadness in her voice.

"Uh... Just forget I asked..." Gakuko replied once again regretting ever asking such a question. The two continued their daily routine as they headed towards the one store out of all of Mai.

On the way, they ran into one of the biggest trouble-makers/womanizers in the world. Katsune Mikuo. "So~ you want to go out with me this time, Lenka-chan?" Mikuo asked the blonde, holding a rose up to her face.

"N-no... stop bothering me please, Katsune-san... You know what my brother will do when he finds you..." Lenka pleaded.

"Oi! Mikuo! What do you think you're doing?" Gakuko shouted out, "Mom, just stay here. I have something to deal with..." She began approach the blue-haired boy as a deadly aura surrounded her. "Mikuo... I thought you would stop your womanizer ways when I broke your arm a few years back..."

"Uh... hey... Gakuko... what's up? What do you think of today's economy... Yeah uh so I got to go now... BYE!" Mikuo quickly spitted out, trying to get away. When he began to run, a certain blonde-haired boy stood in his way.

"So Katsune Mikuo... What do you think you're doing, flirting with my sister? I'll kill you if you lay a finger on her... Oh wait... You already did. I guess that means I have to kill you then, huh," the blonde threatened.

"Nii-sama! What are you doing here?" Lenka asked her brother.

"I was passing by and I thought I heard your voice so I came over to see what was happening. Then I saw this womanizer trying to flirt with you. Unforgivable."

"Uh... I better get going now... You know... I have like some stuff to do and stuff so~... See ya guys tomorrow!"

"Oh no you don't, Katsune Mikuo!" Then Rinto began chasing Mikuo around the village, causing a ruckus. Lenka sighed and slightly smiled at the normal scene and headed back to her home, leaving Gakuko to continue with her routine. But before she could go back to her mother, a pink-haired boy arrived at the scene.

"So~ looks like Mikuo got into another fight with Kagami Rinto, huh?" the boy observed.

"Luki? W-what brings you to town today?" Gakuko blushed in front of her love.

"I'm out buying some dog food for Kogeinu. I ran out."

"Oh I see..."

"How about you? You aren't usually in town unless you are with Musashi-san."

"My mom? She's over there, " Gakuko pointed out, "We are headed towards Kawahiro-san's store."

"I'll tag along, since I was going there anyways." The two walked over to Musashi who was sitting in the shade, talking to some villagers.

"Mom, I'm ready to go now."

"Oh ok, let's go then. Megumi Luki what are you doing here? You are staying out of trouble, right?" Musashi questioned Luki.

"Uh... Well I try to stay out of trouble, but you know me. I'm friends with one of the biggest trouble-makers in the world. He sorta rubbed off on me..." Luki replied, referring to Mikuo.

"Of course. I'm glad that my daughter didn't end up dating him." Musashi stated.

"So are we going to go now, Mom?" Gakuko asked.

"Yes. Let's get going." So the three of them walked off towards the little store in the not-so-far distance.

"Hello? Kawahiro-san? Are you here?" Musashi shouted from the front of the small store. A man with white hair and glasses walked out.

"Ah. Musashi-san, Gakuko-san. Nice to see you two. What do you little ravens want from my store today?" Kawahiro asked while eating his ramen.

"Today it will be leeks please," Gakuko answered with a smile, "How much money for a pound?"

"That will be one dollar and forty-three cents*," Kawahiro responded as he adjusted his glasses with his free hand. Gakuko took out just the right amount of money and handed it to Kawahiro. "I'll go get the leeks, please wait here my little ravens." About a minute later, Kawahiro walked back out holding the bag of leeks, and a bag of grapes. "I hope they are to your liking, my little ravens. And please accept these grapes. No charge. I know how much you love grapes, Gakuko-chan. Please enjoy them. And what do you need, Luki-san?"

"The usual dog food for Kogeinu please." Luki answered.

"Of course, I'll get it right away." After Luki paid, and got his dog food, they group was ready to leave.

"Thanks Kawahiro-san, have a good day!" Gakuko said as she and Musashi walked on.

"I better start heading home. See you tomorrow, Gakuko." Then he leaned over and pecked Gakuko's cheek. Gakuko blushed at the contact.

"B-bye... Luki..." Then she turned to mother and then asked, "Now where are we off to?" still blushing a bit.

"We are going to pay a visit to the shrines at the top of the mountains. I want you to become one of the shrine maidens. I want you to bring honor back to our disgraced family name," Musashi explained.

"No!" Gakuko quickly answered while crossing her arms, forming a X. "I'd never do something so girly! No way! Not even if you paid me money or gave me all the chocolate cake in the world! NO~!"

"Too late, we're already here." The two of them were standing in front of the building where auditions for shrine maiden were being held.

"NO~!" Gakuko yelled as she was being pulled by the back of her shirt into the building. When it was over, Gakuko walked out of the building, and collapsed onto the ground. Her soul started flying out of her mouth. "I'll be seeing you soon, Dad..."

"Stop sleeping! We have start cooking dinner!" Musashi barked as she kicked Gakuko up off the ground.

"Ow... ow... ow... ow..." Gakuko muttered while she rubbed her aching head. "What was that for!"

"It was for taking a nap when there's food to be cooked!" Musashi retorted, "Let's just hurry up and go home." Gakuko then got off the ground and the two headed back home.

"I'm home~!" Gakuko announced when she walked in. She ran to her room and hopped onto the bed. "Call me when dinner's ready, 'kay mom?"

"No. You have to help," Musashi ordered.

"Eh... I don't want to though..." Gakuko complained.

"Ga-ku-ko," Musashi said slowly. "Three... Two... O-"

"I'm here! What should I do to help?" Gakuko asked as she did a salute, her personality changing completely.

"Cut up the leeks please," Musashi demanded. Gakuko got a knife, and started cutting the leeks. After awhile, the noodle soup was ready.

"Thanks for the food!" Gakuko said before she began eating.

"It could have had more salt," Musashi pointed out after she took a bite.

"Really? I think it's fine," Gakuko replied. The dinner continued peacefully and later, when the moon was high up in the sky, Gakuko was in her room staring out the window looking at the moon. Somewhere else, another person happened to be staring at the moon too.

"Gakupo-sama, we have located the location of where the Mai villagers are hiding. We are waiting for your orders," a blue-haired man stated.

"Good work, Kaito. This will certainly be interesting..." the shady man commented, "And especially fun." The shady man was a man who had long, lavender hair tied in a ponytail, and was drinking sake. "Kaito, please tell the military forces to get ready for an attack."

"Yes, Gakupo-sama."

The moonlight shined on the chessboard, as the shady man moved his pawn into place... "Soon, it will be Check... And then... Mate."

* * *

Author Note: So, what do you think? Good? Bad? So good that it makes you cry? So bad that it makes you cry? Horrifying? Awesome? Please be awesome! This chapter ended up longer than I expected... Don't expect the other chapters to be as long. For you people that know D. Gray Man, no, Gakuko's dad, who is described by having long, dark, midnight-blue hair tied in a ponytail, is NOT Kanda. I couldn't think of any other hairstyle... Also for people who haven't listened to Nishiki no Mai, I'll have a link to a Youtube video of the song on my profile for you people to check it out! Warning though, it may spoil the story a bit (or a lot) so watch at your own risk. By the way, you may have noticed that Mikuo, Luki, Rinto, and Lenka don't have their original last names. I changed them so that they wouldn't be related to the other Vocaloids such as Hatsune Miku, Megurine Luka, and the Kagamine Twins. So that's why their names were changed... Yeah... PLEASE REVIEW! Also if you have questions, feel free to ask. I answer all...

Character Profiles:

Character Profile #1:  
Name: がくこ (Gakuko)  
Age: 18  
Personality: brave, confident, helpful, and determined.  
Appearance: long, violet hair which she usually ties in a ponytail, and bright purple eyes  
Other facts: she is unaware of her family name, has a dead father who she doesn't know anything about, and she loves grapes

Character Profile #2:  
Name: 武蔵 (Musashi)  
Age: 42  
Personality: can be kind at times, but can also been the most terrifying thing on the planet  
Appearance: long orange-ish red hair which she ties in a ponytail, and turquoise eyes  
Other facts: she doesn't like talking about her dead husband, and she likes apples

Character Profile #3:  
Name: 鏡 レンカ (Kagami Lenka)  
Age: 17  
Personality: very kind, timid, she can't stand up for herself, but she is slowing trying to become stronger so she doesn't have to rely on her brother  
Appearance: long, wavy, blonde hair tied in ponytail, and blue-green eyes  
Other Facts: she cares deeply for her older brother, Rinto, and she loves peaches

Character Profile #4:  
Name: かつね ミクオ (Katsune Mikuo)  
Age: 19  
Personality: womanizer who likes to flirt with girls who he finds pretty  
Appearance: short blue hair, and green eyes  
Other Facts: he shares a deep rivalry with Kagami Rinto, and he likes blue roses although they don't exist

Character Profile #5:  
Name: 鏡 リンと (Kagami Rinto)  
Age: 17  
Personality: serious, but he has his fun times as well as long as Mikuo is not around  
Appearance: short blonde hair with hair clips in it, and blue-green eyes  
Other Facts: he protects his sister with his life, he shares a deep hatred for the Katsune family, and he can eat a lemon whole

Character Profile #6:  
Name: 恵み ルキ (Megumi Luki)  
Age: 20  
Personality: a slight trouble-maker who is thoughtful, and sweet  
Appearance: medium short-ish pink hair that falls to his shoulders, and sea blue eyes  
Other Facts: he has a dog named Kogeinu who cares for deeply, and he is Gakuko's current (and only) lover

Character Profile #7:  
Name: 狼 かわ広 (Okami Kawahiro)  
Age: 45  
Personality: kind, giving, and helpful  
Appearance: short white hair, and dark brownish maroon eyes  
Other facts: he owns a store, calls everyone a "little raven", and likes ramen

*: I don't know how much leeks are in Yen so I just used dollars...

Mr. Disclaimer-Man: YYuuuukkaannddaa doesn't own Vocaloid.

Mr. Sound-Effect: *Nishiki no Mai sung by Gakupo and Gakuko* (I don't own~!)


	2. Trying To Learn The Secret

Author Note: Enjoy the next chapter of Nishiki no Mai. Please review! And enjoy! Even if you don't like it, still enjoy! Also in this chapter the names of the demons will be revealed. The names are names of real demons. I went on the internet and looked up names of demons to use for this story. Some people my recognize some of the demon names. I just wanted to say that before I started the chapter. Please R&R!

* * *

Recap:

_"Gakupo-sama, we have located the location of where the Mai villagers are hiding. We are waiting for your orders." a blue-haired man stated._

_"Good work, Kaito. This will certainly be interesting..." the shady man commented. "And especially fun." The shady man was a man who had long, lavender hair tied in a ponytail, and was drinking sake. "Kaito, please tell the military forces to get ready for an attack."_

_"Yes, Gakupo-sama."_

_The moonlight shined on the chessboard, as the shady man moved his pawn into place... "Soon, it will be Check... And then... Mate."_

* * *

_A few years ago, there lived two very large, and powerful empires. The Nishiki and the Mai. The empires were divided by the mountain range that stood between them. On each of those mountains stood shrines that represented the royal demon family from a very old, and famous story. There was also one more shrine. The shrine that represented the peace the family use to have. One day, the emperors of these two empires had a meeting at this shrine of peace. But that day, was also the day of their deaths. A young, destruction-thirsty person assassinated both emperors, and took over the Nishiki empire for himself. Then, he conquered the land of the Mai. He got sick of that shrine where peace between the emperors was made and burned it down with his own two hands. And even now people still fear his fearsome power.  
People say if you look into his eyes directly, you will lose your mind..._

* * *

The time was morning, and all was quiet in Mai. A certain girl was combing her hair getting ready for the adventure to come. Today is the day where she had to travel up the mountain and visit Amaymon's shrine. Amaymon is one demon princes from the famous story of the royal demon family. Amaymon is the younger, scarlet-eyed demon of revenge. The other demon is Mephistopheles, the older, azure-eyed demon of destruction and lies. It is a requirement for all girls trying out for shrine maiden to know the story of the royal demon family off the top of their heads, and today is the day where Gakuko will learn the story. But wait, Gakuko hates anything girly including the shrine maidens. Then why is she so happy? Because if she goes, Gakuko gets anything she wants as long as it's something that's at least possible to get, which means she can learn the secret of her family. So let's begin the adventure!

* * *

"Ok just one more twist... and... done!" Gakuko announced, "Now to get my gift! What should I ask for? I know! All of those secrets that my mother has been hiding from me, yes that's it! Now I just need to epically fail the audition. Okay! Let's do this..."

"Gakuko-chan, who are you talking to?" Musashi asked from the down the hall. Gakuko froze and stared into the mirror. "Gakuko-chan? Are you alright?"

"Uh... fine! And I wasn't talking to anybody..." Gakuko answered frantically. After, she hurried with the last finishing touches, and walked out. "I'm off to the shrine!"

"Don't get lost, and be back by six o'clock." Musashi stated.

"I got it! By the way, what are we having for dinner?" Gakuko asked.

"Leftovers. Anyways, on the way up the mountain, beware of bears, and wild dogs, and wild cats, and poisonous snakes, and poison ivy, and alligators, and sharks, and de-" Musashi tried to warn but was cut off by Gakuko.

"Sharks don't live on mountains, mom. They live in the ocean, everyone knows that! Well, almost everyone... Okay, I'm off. Bye," Gakuko pointed out. After that was said and done, Gakuko set off on her adventure.

She walked through the small village and towards the mountain. As she walked, she happened to bump into a certain somebody. Actually... Two certain somebodies. One who she cared for deeply, the other... not so much. "Hey! Watch where you'- Luki?!" Gakuko exclaimed.

"Hey, Gakuko," Luki said as he smiled.

"Were you planning to go to my house to finally accept my love invitation~?" Mikuo cooed.

"..." Gakuko was silent as she shot Mikuo a deadly glare that read "Do you want me to break your arm again?".

"...- Never mind. Forget what I said." Mikuo told Gakuko.

"I thought so," Gakuko stated. Luki just sighed at the perfectly normal scene from this thing called his life. "So where are you guys going to?"

"I was heading towards Mikuo's house, but then I ended up finding him along the way," Luki explained.

"I was out looking for a new gir- I mean I was out buying food! Hahaha..." Mikuo lied.

"How about you? What are you up to?" Luki asked his love.

"Uh... well... I'm going to Fukushū mountain to try out for Amaymon's Shrine Maiden... Please don't laugh. It's not like I wanted this..." Gakuko explained to the boys.

"Shrine...?"

"...Maiden?" Mikuo began laughing his ass off when he heard that. "You... a Shrine Maiden? I can't believe this! This is too funny..." Then, Luki silenced the trouble-maker by coughing threateningly.

"I think it's great that you are trying out for this, Gakuko! As your lover, I shall support you all the way!" Luki declared as he smiled warmly.

"Thanks... Luki. And you Mikuo! I get you later for this..." Gakuko threatened.

"Sorry, I'm sorry! Here, take this rose. It's the rose of my support~!" Mikuo sung in a sing-song tune. Gakuko took the rose, and crushed it.

"I don't need your rose... But thanks for the support, Mikuo. You guys are the best!" Gakuko thanked as she hugged them.

"Good luck, Gakuko." Luki, then, bent over and kissed Gakuko's forehead, causing the violet-haired girl to blush. "Bye." After, the two trouble-makers walked off, continuing with their own adventure. Gakuko smiled, then turned towards the path to the Fukushū mountain. She gulped, and continued on.

When she arrived at the foot of the mountain, where the building was, she walked in to take the elevator. She approached the elevator and there she saw a sign that had the words "All shrine maiden tryouts, please climb up the mountain by finding some other way besides the elevator."

When Gakuko saw those horrifying words, she sulked down to the ground, sat on the ground, pulled her knees towards her body, and started admitting a dark, disappointed aura with a hint of laziness. "No, now my chances of learning the family secret are now gone! No~!" Gakuko cried.

"Up lazy girl! This is no time for sleeping! If you want to become shrine maiden, then get up and work for it!" A mysterious voice commanded.

"But I don't want to become shrine maiden... I just want to know my family's great, big secret..." Gakuko replied, lazily.

"That's your reason for being here? That's your reason for wanting to become shrine maiden?" the voice continued.

"Uh... yeah, pretty much," Gakuko admitted.

"That's wonderful! My name is Kaiko, and I'm one of the judges for the shrine maiden tryouts! I like you. You are honest and not afraid of revealing how you truly feel, that's not very common. Most people just say things so people will like them. Those people should never become the shrine maiden. That's what I look for in a shrine maiden. And I think you got what it takes to become Amaymon's shrine maiden," Kaiko explained.

"Huh? What? Me? Are you talking to me? All I want is to get my mom to tell me my family's secret. That's all I want at this moment, and this is how I plan to find out. Now, I don't want to become shrine maiden, got that? I hope you do cause I'm not saying again. Now if you don't mind, I'm trying to be disappointed here. So, shoo-shoo," Gakuko demanded as she moved her hand in a shooing motion.

"Y'know, you never seem to give up on what you are aiming for. That's a sign of a good shrine maiden for Amaymon who had to stay true to the goal of getting revenge against Mephistopheles for destroying the once peaceful town that they lived in," Kaiko continued to explain. Gakuko had enough of trying to get the blue-haired to listen to her, so she stayed quiet. Kaiko sighed and then said, "Even though it's against the rules, and you'd be disqualified for this but I really believe that you should become the shrine maiden for Amaymon so, I'll let you use the elevator."

". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . YES~! YAHOO! YEAH! Thank you so much!" Gakuko screamed in happiness as she hugged the girl.

"Ow, ow, ow, please let go of me... Hello? Dying here," Kaiko yelped for help.

"Sorry 'bout that... Kaiko, right?" Gakuko apologized.

"Yeah, my name's Kaiko," Kaiko repeated as she straightened out skirt. The conversation continued and the sun began to set. Gakuko was at the top of the mountain, at the shrine and could see the another right next to it.

"The sunset is so pretty. I never see it from up here before..." Gakuko said to herself. She looked over and saw a man with lavender hair tied in a ponytail and was looking at Mephistopheles' shrine. He was saying something but Gakuko could make it out. "I wonder who he is... He looks important. Right, I'm getting off task. I'm supposed to be reading the story of the two demon siblings, since I missed the reading earlier," She looked at the small plaque on the shrine and began to read aloud. "_A long, long time ago, two demon princes along with the rest of their family lived together peacefully. That was until one of the older demon princes destroyed the peaceful town, and stained the moon with blood. That demon prince was the azure-eyed demon that longed for destruction. But then the azure-eyed demon's __younger sibling vowed revenge for the destruction of it's hometown. The younger demon was the scarlet-eyed demon that vowed revenge. When it seemed that revenge triumphed over destruction, scarlet turned into azure. And a mad raven sings somewhere..._" Gakuko stared at the plaque for a little longer, and read it a few more times. "I think I get it... But what up with the mad raven? I just don't get that part. Too bad Kaiko left, I could of asked her. Oh well. I'll find out some other time." It was getting late so Gakuko decided it was time to go and eat. When she got home, there was a girl sitting at the table across from Musashi.

"Oh, you're home Gakuko-chan. This is Kaiko, she's here with very good news," Musashi explained.

"Ya, I know who she is, but what good news?" Gakuko questioned.

"Gakuko, you are now officially the shrine maiden for Amaymon. Congratulations!" Kaiko announced as in her head she thought, _Well... No one else tried out so..._

". . . . . . WHAT~? NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO~! This cannot be happening! NO~!" Gakuko shouted throughout the building. It was so loud that some weak parts in the wood foundation of the house broke and collapsed.

"Gakuko-chan, calm dow-" Musashi tried to say but was cut off Kawahiro running into the house in a panic.

"The Nishiki empire... they found us... and... are slowly approaching!" Kawahiro exclaimed between breaths. Elsewhere, the Nishiki military forces were slowly approaching the small, defenseless village of Mai.

"I think this move into Check will be very, very fun and interesting..."

* * *

Author Note: Cliffhanger~! So... who knew those demons? There is an anime that has characters by those demon names. Does anyone know it? I'll give you a cookie if you know! (if I had one...) I'm tired of typing now so, BYE~! Please review!

Character Profiles:

Character Profile #8:  
name: 魅音 解雇 (Mion Kaiko)  
age: 23  
personality: strict, yet understanding  
appearance: short blue hair, and blue eyes  
other facts: she is one of the shrine maiden judges and was once the shrine maiden for Mammon*

*Mammon is one of the 7 main princes of hell. He represents greed.

Disclaimer-Man: YYuuuukkaannddaa doesn't own anything related to this story, but wishes she did.

Mr. Sound-Effect: *Soundless Voice sung by Valshe* (I don't own!)


	3. The Darkness Appears

Author Note: Hey guys. Welcome to the third chapter of Nishiki no Mai! I hope you enjoy! Today a new character shall make an appearance! This character has been mentioned in previous chapters many times. So please read on to find out who it is!

* * *

Recap:

_"The Nishiki empire... they found us... and... are slowly approaching!" Kawahiro exclaimed between breaths. Elsewhere, the Nishiki military forces were slowly approaching the small, defenseless village of Mai._

_"I think this move into Check will be very, very fun and interesting..."_

* * *

The Nishiki Empire is approaching the Mai village! What is going to happen? What will the Mai villagers do? Run or fight? Will the feared emperor of Nishiki make his move? What will happen to our heroine? Will Gakuko save the day? Or will the truth of the darkness come forth?

* * *

"WHAT? The Nishiki Empire? How did they find us?" Musashi exclaimed to the normally calm man who was, for once, as shocked as she was.

"I don't know... But anyways we have to do something!" Kawahiro pointed out, worried about the safety of his family and friends.

"Should we run again?" Kaiko suggested since that's what they've been doing.

"No... We've be running too much... We have to... We have to fight," Musashi stated in a serious tone.

"But this is the Nishiki Empire we are talking about! We don't stand a chance," Kawahiro objected, telling the truth, since they've never had even the slightest chance against the Nishiki.

"We have no other choice..." Musashi declared, with sadness in her voice.

"I suppose you're right... We have been running for too long now..." Kawahiro admitted.

"I'll go tell the townspeople... Kawahiro-san, could you help me?" Kaiko asked.

"Sure Kaiko-san." The two left, leaving Musashi, and Gakuko in silence.

"What..." Musashi looked over to Gakuko who continued, "What's going to happen? What's going to happen to the village?"

"Gakuko-chan... I don't know... We just have to believe..." Musashi replied, "Believe in the power of Mai..."

"Is everyone going to fight?" Gakuko asked, worried about her friends living in the village.

"Everyone... except the shrine maiden... you," Musashi answered. "You will stay here... If they find you, tell them that you are the shrine maiden of Amaymon. They may accept you into their empire."

"But... What about you? I can't just leave my mother to die!" Gakuko retorted.

"I'll be fine as long you survive," Musashi reassured. Then she walked over to a trunk, and opened it. Inside was a knife and two fans. She took them out and handed them to Gakuko. "Use them as you see fit," Musashi told her. After that, she walked out of the door. Gakuko knew that today was probably the last day she would she her mom. When Musashi was long gone, a tear of regret fell down Gakuko's cheek. She wanted to do something, but what could she do?

* * *

At the open meadow on the hill at the northern part of the village, everyone was gathered, of course everyone except Gakuko.

"Are we ready to fight against the Nishiki?" Musashi asked the crowd of people.

"YEAH!" they shouted back.

_Are we really ready?_ Musashi thought to herself.

"It will be fine, Musashi. We just have to believe, right?" Kaiko told her.

"I suppose so..." Musashi replied.

"They're coming!" Luki yelled out as he took out his ninjato*, causing everyone to turn, and take out their weapons, prepared to fight. Mikuo took out his revolver and spun it around his finger trying to look cool when it obviously was not the time to. Rinto stood protectively in front of Lenka, with his pistol drawn. Lenka stood there, holding a katana** that she received from her parents, although she had no idea how to use it.

_It's now or never..._

* * *

Gakuko was sitting in her room, alone, thinking about what to do. She couldn't just sit there doing nothing while her friends, and her mom fought against the powerful Nishiki empire. She's never felt so powerless in her life. She had the power to do something, but couldn't use it since the rules prohibits shrine maidens to fight. _If I didn't become Amaymon's shrine maiden, I could be fighting with the town right now! _Gakuko thought. _But wait... Since when did I ever do something that I didn't want to do. Since when did I put friends and family_ after _work._ _Since when! Ha. Who am I now? This is not the face of Gakuko I use to know... This is not the face of a girl who wants to just be happy with her friends and family. This is no longer the face of a girl who wants to know her family secret. Who am I now? Cause I'm not Gakuko. Amaymon... Who am I? Do know where Gakuko is, Amaymon? _Gakuko continued to sit there, simply thinking about who she was.

_"You are Gakuko, Gakuko," _A mysterious voice said.

"Who's there?" Gakuko asked sternly while scanning the room.

_"Silly Gakuko. I'm not in this room," _The female voice continued. Gakuko then ran out of the room and searched the house. "_I'm not here either, I'm in your mind."_

"Wh-Who are you?" Gakuko questioned the voice, which she could not see.

_"I can be many things... I could be... a cat. Nya. Or a dog. Woof. … Or I could also be you. Who am I?" _

"Hurry up and tell me your name!" Gakuko demanded.

_"Feisty. I like it,"_ The voice said, changing into a guy voice. "_I am the spirit of Amaymon. The demon prince of revenge. You are my shrine maiden, correct?" _

"Yes, ...Amaymon. Um... Can you make it so that I can see you? I don't like talking to something I can't see... It's awkward."

_"Wha? You want to see what I look like? Uh... Sure. But, you'll be shocked at first." _

"I don't care."

_"Fine then. But first, go back to your room, close the door, and face a mirror as you close your eyes." _Gakuko did as she was told. It was dark... Gakuko could hear the voice in her head chanting something in a language she could not understand and then disappear. It was silent again.

"Open your eyes now." Gakuko opened her eyes and screamed. What she saw in the mirror was terrifying. Darkness with red eyes, was how she could describe it. "Stop screaming," Amaymon demanded. Gakuko turned and looked at the demon, shocked. He had long, black hair that was tied into a braid. The bangs of his hair came in between his eyes. His eyes were a dark, yet bright scarlet. He was wearing a black shirt that exposed his chest, and very baggy, black sweat pants. Over his shirt was a white piece of cloth, wrapped around his neck. On the white cloth, was a gold choker that had a red jewel on it. On his wrists, were gold bracelets that almost went up to his elbow.

"You are Amaymon?"

"Ya. Have a problem with my appearance, then deal with it."

"It's fine. But why don't you look like that in the mirror?"

"In the mirror is my demon form. This is just a form I take when I appear in front of humans. It's more... Attractive."

"I see... So why are you here? I mean did you want to talk to me or something?"

"Well, you said you didn't know who were, right?"

"Yeah... How did you know?"

"I know everything."

"Creepy..."

"I didn't ask for it to be that way. Now, tell me a bit about yourself, Gakuko."

"Don't already know everything?"

"Just answer the damn question!"

"Fine, pussy."

"What did you call me?"

"A pussy. You know, like those kitty-cats?"

"I'm not a cat."

"You said it yourself, right? You could be a cat."

"MOVING ON!"

"Fine sheesh. Before I tell you who I am, which you already know, tell me about yourself."

"Why should I go through the trouble of telling you stuff about me? You're my Shrine Maiden. Don't you already know stuff about me?"

"Uh... Well... I don't know that much about you... I was made Shrine Maiden because I was only one who tried out... All the other girls tried out for Asmodeus***..." When Amaymon heard that name, he froze. "Who is that guy anyways?"

"Asmodeus... Ugh... I hate remembering that name... Asmodeus..."

"Why? Who is he?"

"Asmodeus is... is... my father..."

"...Demons have parents?"

"Yes! Just because we are demons, doesn't mean we can't you know... reproduce... The process is just different from you humans... well... sorta... We still do-"

"STOP! I DON'T NEED TO KNOW!"

"You asked."

"WHATEVER!"

"Now tell me about yourself. I can't stay for much longer..."

Gakuko stared at the now paler demon to see that it did look like he was going to disappear soon. "My name is Gakuko. I have no idea what my full name is and... Wait. You know everything, right? Then you can tell me! Who was my dad? Please tell me! I must know something about my dad, anything!"

"I'll tell you one fact on your father. But just one."

"Okay! Okay! Hurry up and spit it out!"

"He's dead."

"Well I know that! Tell me something new. Something I don't already know!"

"I'm afraid I'm not authorized to tell you."

"Why not! I'm your Shrine Maiden! At least tell me something about him!"

"You will learn everything in due time. I already know what is going to happen. You shall learn the dark truth soon enough."

"..."

"..."

"Anyways, going back to the 'forgetting who you are' thing you are Gakuko, and you'll always be. If you are having trouble remembering who you are, look into a mirror. You're reflection will tell you. Now, you want to fight, am I correct?"

"Yes. I want to fight with my friends and family..."

"Well... The what are standing around here for?"

"I'm not allowed to fight since I'm a Shrine Maiden."

"That's stupid. I never wanted that! Who came up with such a fucked up rule?"

"Dunno..."

"Whatever. You go fight for what you believe in, 'kay?"

"I guess you're right, Amaymon." She looked at her father's photo and said, "Dad, I'm going to fight for what I believe in, okay? I know this is what you would do too. I miss you, Dad." Then, looked at the knife and fans that were placed on her shrine maiden outfit. She picked up the knife and looked at it. She saw her reflection in it. _Can I really do this and save my village...? _

"Of course you can." Gakuko turned her knife, and then saw Amaymon's reflection. She saw him smile at her and then disappear.

"Thank you... Amaymon... for everything..." Gakuko said before she walked out. Once she was out, she started running... Running to save the lives of her fellow villagers. _Don't worry everyone... I'll save you guys even if it costs my life! _

* * *

Author Note: I intended for more to happen in this chapter, but I decided against it. The design for Amaymon came from a picture of Judal from Magi The Labyrinth Of Magic that I found. The link is on my profile if you'd like to look at it with other pictures of what I think some of the characters look like. If there is a character that you want to see, but isn't there, please tell me and I'll post the picture for you!

Character Profiles:

Character Profile #9:  
name: 甘いもん (Amaymon)  
age: ?  
personality: determined, and demon-like  
appearance: long, black hair tied in a braid which is thrown over his right shoulder, and dark, yet bright scarlet eyes  
other facts: he's the son of Asmodeus, he is the demon prince of revenge, and he has a liking for Arabian clothing

*: A Ninjato is a ninja sword.

**: A katana is a samurai sword. It's also the Japanese word for sword.

***: Asmodeus is one of the 7 main princes of hell. He represents lust.

Disclaimer: YYuuuukkaannddaa doesn't own anything related to this story in any way... sadly... Well she owns the OCs... But that's it.

Mr. Sound Effect: *Thunder by Boys Like Girls acoustic version*


	4. The Nishiki Makes Its Move

Author Note: And yet another chapter of Nishiki no Mai has arrived to your eyes! This time there should be some epic/sad scenes so please read on! Make sure you have a box of tissues... Unless you ran out of tears... Then... Never mind... Please R&R!

* * *

Recap:

_"I guess you're right, Amaymon." She looked at her father's photo and said, "Dad, I'm going to fight for what I believe in, okay? I know this is what you would do too. I miss you, Dad." Then, looked at the knife and fans that were placed on her shrine maiden outfit. She picked up the knife and looked at it. She saw her reflection in it. _Can I really do this and save my village...?

_"Of course you can." Gakuko turned her knife, and then saw Amaymon's reflection. She saw him smile at her and then disappear._

_"Thank you... Amaymon... for everything..." Gakuko said before she walked out. Once she was out, she started running... Running to save the lives of her fellow villagers. _Don't worry everyone...I'll save you guys even if it costs my life!

* * *

Gakuko has just met the demon prince of revenge, Amaymon, and has made up her mind. She decided that she was going to do what she believes is right. She was going to fight and save her fellow friends and family. But, will our heroine actually be the heroine? Or will a dark aura of destruction make his appearance? Will the Mai village actually defeat the feared Nishiki empire? Or will the terrifying emperor make his Check?

* * *

_I have to hurry... I have to get to the battlefield in time... I have to! _Gakuko thought to herself as she tightly griped on her knife. She ran towards the open meadow on the hill at the northern part of the village where the battle was taking place. When she got to the top, she dropped her knife, and her eyes filled with terror, horror, sadness, and darkness. She saw all of Mai village members getting wiped out by the Nishiki samurai. She looked around and saw her friends laying on the ground, dying. "Luki... Mikuo... Kawahiro-san... Lenka-chan... Rinto-kun... Kaiko... Everybody..." She murmured to herself as her saw her dead friends. She looked ahead and saw one of the most terrifying sights in her whole entire life. She saw a man with long, lavender hair holding a katana to the neck of her mother and only family left, Musashi. _  
_

"Ga...kuko...chan..." Musashi whimpered as she looked back at her daughter.

"Mom..." A single tear fell down and splashed onto the ground. "**MOM~!**" Gakuko screamed as she ran towards her mother. Her tears flew in the air as she ran, slowing falling to the ground.

"Hm... I wonder what would happen if I do this?" the man asked himself as he moved his katana towards Musashi's heart.

"Stop..." Gakuko whispered.

"Hm... What would happen if I do this?" Then he started to move the katana closer to Musashi's chest.

"Stop it..." Gakuko continued.

"Hm... Maybe I should do this?" Then, he stabbed Musashi through the heart. Blood stained the meadow as Gakuko screamed. "She was a useless mother anyways. She never did anything for me. She died because she was weak." The lavender-haired man, then, pulled his katana out of Musashi chest and let her fall. Gakuko ran over and caught she falling, and bleeding mother in her arms.

"Ga...ku...ko...chan..." Musashi whimpered.

"Don't try to talk, Mom. Don't waste your energy. I'll get you out of this alive."

"There's no point in hiding it anymore... This man.. His name is Kamui Gakupo... He-..." Musashi began coughing up blood.

"Mom! Don't talk!"

"He killed your father..." With the last bit of her energy, Musashi lifted her hand, which was stained with blood, up the Gakuko's face and said, "This man is... your... bro...ther..." The last words faded away into the wind and couldn't be heard by Gakuko.

"Mom...? Mom...? **MOM~!** **AHHHHH~!** You... You killed everyone in my village... Everyone that I loved and cared for... **I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS~!**" Gakuko yelled at the man, eyes glowing scarlet. Gakuko began running towards the man, her hands made into a fist ready to punch. Out of nowhere, a blue-haired man appeared and blocked the punch.

"I will protect you until the end, Gakupo-sama," the man announced.

"Kaito?" the lavender-haired man questioned.

"I will stay be your side the as long as I live, Gakupo-sama!" Kaito declared as he pulled out his sword, "I shall fight this girl!"

"STAY OUT OF THIS~!" Gakuko yelled at Kaito, anger and sadness in her voice.

"NO! I will not leave my master's side!" Furious, Gakuko punched the blue-haired man. As he fell, Gakuko punched him down to the ground again. She continued to repetitively punch him in the face. Finally, she grabbed him by the collar of his clothes and punched him one more time. He fell to the ground, and was knocked unconscious.

"I told you to stay out of this..." Gakuko threatened as a dark aura surrounded her, as a cold breeze blew by. Next, Gakuko got up and charged towards the shady man who killed her mother. "I will kill you even if it's the last thing I do!" She tries to punch him, but once again is blocked by a weak Kaito who was now coughing blood.

"I... I... I will not let you kill Gakupo-sama!-" After he finished speaking, he began to cough up more blood. Slowly, he weakly drew his sword up and chanted, "Long live Emperor Kamui Gakup-" Before he could finish, Gakuko punched him one last time causing him fall to the ground, and release his grip on his sword which danced in the air, and landed a few feet away from him. Gakuko reached over and picked up his sword as Kaito weakly began to stand.

"You shall die protecting your cruel, destruction-thirsty Emperor. You shall die by your own blade of ambitions which you used to assist your Emperor. You shall die with honor." Gakuko stated. Then, she raised the sword into the air and slashed it down through Kaito's left shoulder. Kaito's vision began fading as Gakuko pulled out the sword out of his shoulder which caused him to drop to his knees.

"I... I have failed you... Gakupo-sama... I hope I helped you at least a little bit... I guess I wasn't a strong enough subordinate... Did I disappoint you?... I hope I didn't... You were my only true family... Gakupo-sam-" Gakupo walked over and kicked him down causing Kaito to fall to the ground.

"You were nothing to me. You were just a pawn. Not even a knight. Just a pawn. You died because you were weak. They all died because they were weak. Your family. Your friends. And now you." Gakupo told the now dead man.

"Who do think you are to say that! He protected you! He saved your sorry ass! You don't have the right to say that to him!" Gakuko retorted.

"Oya*? You were the one who killed him, weren't you? Now you're fighting for him? You are a silly human."

"I'm not silly... I'm just fighting for what I believe in. If he didn't meet you, he would probably be fighting against you."

"Don't act like you know Kaito, cause you don't. Kaito was abandoned as a child. He was a part of a royal family called the Mions, but they abandoned him and left him to live with strangers. One day, a forest fire burnt down his village, killing his only friends and family. He was alone until I saved him from his suffering. I am the reason he is alive."

"Then why... Why did you say that he was nothing to you... It's like you didn't care if he died or not... WHY~?" Gakuko charged at him, sword raised in the air.

"First standing up for your enemy, now trying to kill your brother? Ha. You've changed. Gakuko-chan."

At that moment Gakuko froze, her eyes filled with shock. "Brother?... What?... What are you talking about?... I don't have a brother... You're lying... Stop lying to me..."

"I'm not lying. I am Kamui Gakupo. Child of Kunoichi Musashi and former Mai Emperor, Kamui Mifune. Gakuko, I am your brother."

"It's not possible... How could you be... my brother? It's a lie..."

"It's the truth. I can't believe you can't get that through your thick skull. I watched you grow up, Gakuko. I lived along side you during your youth." Gakupo walked up to the shocked girl and poked her forehead. "Remember? Ga-ku-ko-chan?" After that, the memories started flowing back into Gakuko's head.

_"Gakupo-nii-chan~!" The little girl yelled out to the older boy. As she approached him, she tripped and fell onto the ground. "Owie..." she said as she rubbed her head. _

_"Gakuko-chan! You have to be more careful. Seriously. Watch out. You can easily trip on a rock," the boy lectured the girl.  
_

_"I got it! I got it! I'll watch out next time!"  
_

_"You have to or else I'll punish you with my tickle attack!" then the boy started tickling the girl.  
_

_"Hahahahahahahahaha~! STOP~! Stop it Gakupo-nii-chan!" the girl pleaded.  
_

_"Fine. Just warning you." after that the boy poked the girl's head. In response, the girl fell back and landed on the ground. "Gakuko-chan."  
_

_"Ow... Why do you always poke my head like that?" the girl asked, rubbing her forehead.  
_

_"I dunno... I just do. Now, lets go inside and eat some grapes, okay?" the boy suggested.  
_

_"Yay~!"_

That _"Yay~!"_ continued to echo in Gakuko's head over and over... _"Yay~!" "Yay~!" "Yay~!" "Yay~!"_ "No... It's not true... IT'S NOT~!"

"Are you still denying it? It's true. Were you listening to anything? Your poor mother died speaking the truth. Were you not listening to her dying words?"

_"This man is... your... bro...ther..." _Gakuko flashed back. "Mom... So it's true? This man... is my brother?..." A cold wind blew by, as silence fell upon the meadow. Then, Gakuko looked up to the sky, and screamed. The ravens in the trees flew out and started singing along to Gakuko's screams.

"Should I put an end to her life, Gakupo-sama?" a pink haired girl asked, kunai** in hand.

"No, Luka. We're going to retreat for now," Gakupo announced as he turned around to face his army, eyes azure. "This loud screaming is bothering me."

"Yes, Gakupo-sama."

"Check."

* * *

Author Note: Woo~! I have finished another chapter~! Wonderful. This chapter used to be the longest, but when I rewrote the chapters, it turned into one of the shortest... I don't know how that happened... Strange. Oh well. I'm thinking about maybe having a filler chapter about Gakuko and the Mai villagers before this all happened. Just a normal day in the Mai village sorta like the first chapter. *sniff* Out of all the characters that I killed in this chapter... I think I'm going to miss Mikuo the most... I loved writing his womanizer personality... It was so much fun... Now I can't wait for the filler chapters... Especially this one that I had about him and Rinto... I can't wait to start working on those... But first, I need more important stuff to happen to Gakuko so... It will have to wait.

Character Profiles:

Character Profile #10:  
name: 紫苑 会と (Shion Kaito)  
age: 24  
personality: very loyal, determined, and brave  
appearance: short blue hair, and blue eyes  
other facts: he has no family, he only considers Gakupo his family, and he LOVES ice cream

Character Profile #11:  
name: 神威 がくぽ (Kamui Gakupo)  
age: 28  
personality: cruel, destruction-thirsty, and evil-filled  
appearance: long, lavender hair tied in a ponytail, and blue eyes.  
other facts: he is the Emperor of the Nishiki empire, and he has a strange liking for eggplants

*: Oya is sorta like a "Oh?" I just think it sounds better.

**: A kunai is a ninja dagger thing. WOO! NINJA~! NIN! NIN!

Mr. Disclaimer-Man: YYuuuukkaannddaa doesn't own Vocaloid, but she does own her Vocaloid CDs.

Mr. Sound Effect: *Heat-Haze Days Chorus by Nico Utaites* (I don't own~!)


	5. You're Alive!

Author Note: Next chapter~! Woo~! I wonder what's gonna happen today? Of course I know, I'm the author after all! Well let us move on...

* * *

_Recap:_

_"This man is... your... bro...ther..."__Gakuko flashed back. "Mom... So it's true? This man... is my brother?..." The wind blew by, as silence fell upon the meadow. Then, Gakuko looked up to the sky, and screamed. The ravens in the trees flew out and started singing along to Gakuko's screams._

_"Should I put an end to her life, Gakupo-sama?" the pink haired girl asked, kunai in hand._

_"No, Luka. We're going to retreat for now," Gakupo announced as he turned around to face his army, eyes azure. "This loud screaming is bothering me."_

_"Yes, Gakupo-sama."_

_"Check."_

* * *

The battle has ended... Many tragedies have occurred... And the last raven was left alone on the blood-stained meadow-battlefield, screaming to the new, azure sky. What can she do now? Her family and friends were just slaughtered in front of her eyes. Will she try to avenge their deaths?

* * *

Gakuko stood there. Horrified, blood-stained, and alone. She fell to the ground and began to cry, "Why... Why did they have to die?! Why couldn't of been me? Why couldn't I have died in their places?! WHY~?!" The pain that she felt in her heart almost made her want to kill herself.

"Gakuko..." a weak voice called out.

"Huh? That voice..." Gakuko turned around and saw the face of her lover standing before her. "Luki!" She got up to hug him, but realized that he was covered in blood. "You're hurt..."

"Yeah... I'm not going to make it Gakuko... I'm sorry..." Luki announced.

"But... why? And how are you even standing?" Gakuko questioned.

"I'm not that heavily injured... But I was poisoned. So I'm going to die after about thirty-five or so minutes..." Luki explained.

"How can you be so calm about this?! You're going to die! Isn't there any way to save you?" Gakuko exclaimed.

"I'm calm because I was expecting this... I knew we couldn't win... Miracles don't happen twice, and I already got mine... I escaped death before. There is no way I can escape him again. I just want to spend my last minutes with you, if that's possible."

"Of course... I'll spend your last minutes with you! Even after death, I'll be next to you, Luki! I love you Luki and I'll always love you!"

"I know you do, and I love you too. Just please, stay alive. For my sake. For the Mai village's sake. Please keep on living, and kill Kamui Gakupo." Then he leaned down and kissed Gakuko.

"...Let's go... I need to take care of your injuries... C'mon."

* * *

"There you go, are you feeling any better?" Gakuko asked as she finished wrapping the bandage around Luki's chest.

"Great, thanks." Luki thanked with a smile, but then he started to cough violently.

"Luki!" Gakuko exclaimed, "You have to rest a bit."

"I'm fine... Don't worry about me. I'm going to die anyways..."

"Isn't there any way I can save you? I can't stand the pain of being alone... I can't..."

"Gakuko. Be strong. You have to do this for us. All of us. Your Mom, Mikuo, Lenka, Rinto, Kaiko, Kawahiro-san, me, for everyone. Don't forget. This man, who is known to the world as The Feared Nishiki Emperor, is also the one who killed your father. Fight for him as well."

"Do you really think I can fight him? But... He's my brother, right? Would you kill your own brother?"

"Any person who tries to kill their own sister is not worthy of calling himself 'Brother'. He was prepared to kill you at any moment. He even killed his mother and father. Brother or not, you can't take mercy upon him."

"Well I-... I guess you're right..."

"Anyways, I want to go to my house. I need to see Kogeinu one last time before I go."

"Alright then. I'll take you back to your house."

"Thanks... Also... I want to go back to the battlefield. I want to see Mikuo, and everyone else...one last time..."

"...Alright... I'll take you... But... You aren't going to like what you see..."

* * *

The blood-stained meadow-battlefield that appeared in front of the two was truly gruesome.

"Luki?" Gakuko looked over at him, expecting to see a horrified face, but to her surprise, his face was still as calm as ever.

"Everyone... So... They really are all dead... Where's... Mikuo, Gakuko?" Luki asked, wanting to see his friend's face for the last time.

"You don't remember do you?"

"No... If I try to remember everything, it comes out as a blur..."

"Luki..." Gakuko whispered with worry in her voice, "He's over here." They walked to where the womanizer's dead body laid, and saw his body with terrible wounds here and there. He was laying in a puddle of his own blood. Gakuko wanted to scream, but nothing would come out. The smell of blood that she was forced to smell made her feel nauseous. She looked at Luki but he seemed totally fine. "How are you perfectly fine even with all of this? I mean, look at it, it's sickening!"

"I don't know... I just am, I guess..."

"You're strange, you know?"

"Yeah, I know."

"I'm going to miss that strangeness of yours..."

"Remember when we first met each other?"

"Yeah... I'll never forget that day..."

* * *

_The day was somewhere early February or late January. Gakuko was out, walking around the village, looking for something to do. _

"_Fetch!" she heard a boy command. She looked over and saw a pink-haired boy who was around her age, maybe a year or two older than her, playing with his dog. "Good boy!" She stared at him and kept staring as he played with his dog. _

"He... he's so... cute..._" she wondered to herself, "_I wonder who he is..._"_

"Gakuko?_" Mikuo thought when he walked by and saw her. He approached her from behind and said, "Whatcha doin'?" Gakuko, in response, turned around quickly which caused her forehead to hit Mikuo's._

"_Ow..." she mumbled to herself in pain while she rubbed her forehead. _

"_That hurt... So, Gakuko, why are you checking out Luki?" Mikuo asked, trying to move on from the pain in his forehead._

"_Luki? So that's his name..." Gakuko whispered to herself, making herself a mental note._

"_Yeah. He's like my best friend/rival." Mikuo stated._

"_Really?..." Gakuko wondered if such a guy could actually be friends with this womanizer. _

"_I can introduce you to him!"Mikuo offered energetically. _

"_No! Don't!" Gakuko pleaded._

"_It's fine." Mikuo began pulling Gakuko towards Luki. "Oi~! Luki~! It's me~! Mikuo!"_

"_Huh?" Luki turned around and look back at his friend running towards him, pulling a girl behind him. "Hey, Mikuo. What's up?"_

"_This is my friend, Gakuko!" Mikuo introduced to Luki._

"_Friend? Knowing you, you would probably be more than just friends." Luki pointed out. _

"_Hehe... Remember when I had that cast? Well that's when I tried to ask her out..." Mikuo explained._

"_Ha. So that's why you had that cast. Well, my name is Megumi Luki. It's nice to meet you, Gakuko." Luki said, kindness flowing his words._

"_Uh... Yeah... Nice to meet you too, Megumi-kun." Gakuko replied. _

"_Megumi-kun?" Luki echoed._

"_I-Is it okay for me to call you that?" Gakuko asked, flustered._

"_Sure! No one has called me that before." Luki answered._

"_Well, I've got things to do so I'm just gunna leave ya two love birds to have your fun. See ya guys later!" Mikuo waved as he ran off, avoiding the murderous look of a certain cheek-flushed girl._

"_MIKUO~!"_

* * *

"It brings back memories, doesn't it?" Luki commented.

"Yeah..." Gakuko agreed.

"I remember when I first ran into that womanizer..."

* * *

SLAP!_ That single sound resounded through the room. "I TOLD YOU ALREADY! I JUST WANT TO BE A NORMAL BOY! I DON'T WANT TO BE THIS PRINCE YOU THINK I AM CAUSE I AM NOT HIM!"_

"_Luki-ouji-sama..." _

"_NO! DON'T CALL ME BY THAT NAME! Just don't..." The boy started running into the woods as fast as he could, trying to get away from the royal life he was forced to live. He stopped to catch his breath. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. The boy breathed. _

"_Is that... A HUMAN?!" a voice shouted, as the crows flew away._

"_Huh?" The boy looked up, and saw a blue-green-haired boy running his way._

"_OH MY GOD, IT IS! IT'S A HUMAN! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY LOINS, TIGERS, PANDAS, although the pandas where quite cute, HIPPOS, ELEPHANTS, AND SHARKS WE SAW ON OUR WAY HERE?! AND NOW, OUR SAVIOR. A HUMAN. THANK YOU FOR LIVING GOOD SIR! THANK YOU." _

"_I don't know what's going on..."_

"_My name is Katsune Mikuo! And these people here are my family! We are looking for a city, town, or anyplace that has a place for us to stay! And maybe where we can find some good looking girls. Huh, huh," Mikuo explained, as he nudged the very confused boy's arm with his elbow._

"_Uh... There's a small village nearby... The Mai village. I live there. I can show you and your family around if you'd like."_

"_That would be great. Please do. I am the current head of this family, Katsune Ikuo. I am very thankful for your consideration. You are very kind." the middle aged man said thankfully._

"_Uh... It's nothing at all. You can call me Luki, by the way," Luki mentioned. "_I mustn't tell them my last name... It would give away the fact that I am a part of a royal family..._" _

"_Okay! Luki it is then!" Mikuo smiled, and gave Luki a thumbs up. _

* * *

"I remember when I first met him, I broke his arm." Gakuko reminisced.

"Well, he did try to ask you out, so it's not surprising." Luki pointed out.

"I guess you have a point..."

* * *

_Gakuko and Musashi on their way back home from Kawahiro' store. Suddenly a flash of blue-green appeared, and while holding up a purple rose said, "Dear maiden who I have just met. I wish for you to take this rose, which holds my heart, and make it your own. So would you please take my lonely heart, and make it yours to keep?"_

"_What? Are you talking to me?" Gakuko asked, pointing towards herself._

"_Gakuko-chan, I think he's trying to ask you out on a date." Musashi explained, and the boy nodded quickly multiple times._

"_WHAT?! NO WAY! GROSS! WHY WOULD I?! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO THE HELL YOU ARE!" Gakuko yelled at the boy. Then, Gakuko ripped the rose out of his hand, causing the thorns to make his hand bleed, and began tearing off the petals one by one. "I'll love you, I'll love you not. I'll love you, I'll love you not. I'll love you, I'll love you... NOT!" At that moments she threw the rose onto the ground, and began crushing it. Once the rose was destroyed, Gakuko took the boy by his arm, and threw him against the ground. _

"_Gakuko-chan... You shouldn't be so-" Then, there was a sound. It sounded like a breaking sound. "violent..."_

"_That should teach you not to mess with me." Gakuko said triumphantly while crossing her arms. She began walking away, but then the boy grabbed her leg in hopes that she would stay and change her mind. _

"_Just wait... fair maiden... My name... Katsune Mikuo... Here's... my number... Call me maybe if you'd like to change your mind..." Mikuo offered as he held out a piece of paper that had some numbers on it. Gakuko took the paper, then ripped and crumpled it. She threw it at his face, and kicked his now broken arm before walking away. _

"_OW!"_

* * *

"Haha. Good times, huh?" Luki smiled.

"Yeah. Wonderful times that I shall never forget." Gakuko smiled back.

"Let's get going. I want to see Kogeinu." Luki suggested.

"Yeah, let's go."

* * *

Gakuko and Luki walked down the dirt pathway towards the small little house, surrounded by a fence, where a husky was awaiting his master's return. Kogeinu started barking, and running around in joy of the arrival of his beloved master.

"Kogeinu~! Kogeinu!... Koge...inu..." Luki's voice got weak. His eyes became dark. There was a loud sound of impact.

"LUKI!"

* * *

Author Note: FINALLY FINISHED~! WOOP WOOP! Okay guys. Sorry this chapter was filled up with so many flashbacks... There is a big event in the story happening in the next chapter, and I didn't want to put it in this chapter so I basically had to make a somewhat filler chapter. You might be wondering right now, "WHAT?! LUKI'S A PRINCE?!" Yes, yes he is. I will explain that in more detail later on in the story. Well I hope you enjoyed! Please review!

Mr. Disclaimer-Man: YYuuuukkaannddaa doesn't own Vocaloid.

Mr. Sound-Effect: *Nameless Song by Kagamine Len* (I do not own~!)


	6. Death, Demons, and Determination

Author Note: In this chapter, you may need to keep a box of tissues nearby... just in case... Well, at least for the beginning part... Not the rest of it... Please R&R!

* * *

Recap:

_Gakuko and Luki walked down the dirt pathway towards the small little house, surrounded by a fence, where a husky was awaiting his master's return. Kogeinu started barking, and running around in joy of the arrival of his beloved master. _

"_Kogeinu~! Kogeinu!... Koge...inu..." Luki's voice got weak. His eyes became dark. There was a loud sound of impact._

"_LUKI!"_

* * *

Our heroine shall learn something very important today... That death will occur without warning or mercy... But you can't give up there. You must keep walking. There are still people who care and love you. You must live for them...

* * *

Silence fell upon the room. The heroine stood there, still hoping for a miracle. The lover laying in the bed, unconscious, waiting for death to open the door. Kogeinu whined and began nudging Luki's leg.

"Luki... Luki... Luki..." Gakuko continued to mutter his name in hopes that he would awaken. Kogeinu's whining continued as well since, he too, wanted Luki to awaken. A few minutes have passed, and more shall continue. Then, there was a moan.

"Ga...kuko? Koge...inu? Is that you? Where...where am I?" Luki asked, his voice barely audible.

"LUKI!" Gakuko yelled in joy that her lover had awoken. Kogeinu started barking along with her happy cheers.

"I say I have about six more..." Luki muttered.

"Six more what, Luki?" Gakuko questioned.

"Minutes." Luki stated.

"Minutes for what? I don't understand what you're talking about Luki, get a hold of yourself." Gakuko's face began to show a worried expression.

"Six more minutes until death." Luki finally admitted to Gakuko, and himself. He was openly accepting his death. He knew what fate was ahead in the path that he walked.

"Luki... Don't say things like that... Please... Just don't..." Luki began coughing. "Luki? Are you alright?" Luki moved his hand from his mouth. Blood. Blood stained his hand, making his palm a dark, scarlet red. "LUKI!"

"Gakuko? Kogeinu? Where did you guys go? I can't... I can't see you guys, where are you?" Luki turned his head around, but failed to try and locate them.

"I'm right here, Luki!" Gakuko exclaimed as Kogeinu barked.

"Everything is black... Kogeinu? Can you come here, boy?" Luki put his hand out, and Kogeinu began rubbing his hand against it. "Kogeinu... Take care of yourself, 'kay?" Luki told the whining dog. "Promise me that... that you'll take care, and you live a good life, alright? Find someone... who won't die such a pathetic death as I." Luki then began coughing up even more blood.

"LUKI!" Gakuko exclaimed, as she went over and tried to comfort him.

"Gakuko? Can you hear me?" Luki questioned, his voice becoming less and less audible as he continued speaking.

"Yes..." Gakuko answered, on the brink of tears.

"I can barely hear anything..." Tears began to run down Gakuko's cheeks.

"Luki..." Gakuko cried.

"I guess... I guess it's time, huh? Time for me to go into the next world... Time for me to go through death's door... He's waiting you know... Mikuo... I hope he'll be happy to see me... Well... maybe not... Who knows..." he put his hand out and petted Kogeinu's head for what was the last time. "Kogeinu... This is the last command I'm going to give you... Be a good boy." Kogeinu licked his master's hand, and wiped off some of the blood. "I can see it, Gakuko... He opened the door for me... I'm going to walk there... Okay?"

"Luki..." Gakuko continued to cry.

"Where are you?" Gakuko took his hand and placed in on her tear-wet face.

"Gakuko..." He wiped away some of the tears. "I want you to go be who you are... Be you, Gakuko... Even if you find someone better than me, I don't care. I'll always love you as long as you stay true to yourself. I'm glad I met you... Mikuo... Everybody... I am glad ... to be called part of the Mai... I am glad that... this is where... I say... 'Farewell'..." Luki's hands then fell, and became cold. Gakuko wiped away her last tears, and tried to hold back anymore.

"Luki... I'll get him back... I'll kill him... I swear, I'll make him pay for this... Rest in peace, Luki. I love you."

* * *

Somewhere in hell...

"WHAT THE FUCK, YOU GUYS?! WHY DID YOU SUMMON ME HERE?! YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I DESPISE BEING AROUND YOU!" Amaymon yelled at the other figures at the table.

"Aw, but my son, don't you know? Daddy loves you. I want to spend more time with you my son~! Why do you despise me so much?" another demon who had short-medium pitch black hair that had bangs that came down between his purple-pink-red eyes, and demon horns that stuck upwards on both sides of his head.

"I refuse to let you call yourself my father, ever since that night... That scarring night..." Amaymon gagged at the thought.

"Get back to the point, Asmodeus. We summoned you here to ask you a question or two." a demon that sat at the very end of the table and who had short white hair in the back, but the hair that came over his shoulders fell to about his chest, icy light blue eyes, and pointy ears. "Who is she and why is she so important to you?"

"She? Who are you talking about, Father?" Amaymon froze at the piercingly familiar voice. _Him... Why of all the demons in hell, why is he here?! And now of all times! _The demon had a very similar hairstyle to the demon who he referred to as "Father", but the hair that fell over his shoulders was much longer. Longer to the point where it almost touched the floor. He also had light red-pink eyes, and a single demon horn that stuck out from his forehead.

"Mephistopheles..." Amaymon hissed.

"She~? She?! I thought you loved me, son! And you didn't tell me that you got a girlfriend!" Asmodeus cried.

"WHAT?! NO! IT'S NOT LIKE THAT! SHE'S JUST MY SHRINE MAIDEN!" Amaymon retorted.

"Could you keep it down? I am trying to sleep here." a demon who was laying on a red couch, and had a newspaper covering his face stated. He sat up, and yawned, revealing his messy, medium long black hair, and golden eyes.

"Then go into another room if it's that annoying and disruptive to you, Belphegor." said the voice at the end of the table.

"Tch... Satan..." cursed Belphegor.

"Now, now, Father, don't start an unnecessary fight amongst the demons." Mephistopheles cut in.

"You're right, Mephisto. Now, back to you, Amaymo- WHERE DID HE GO?! FIND HIM!" Amaymon used the small chance he got, and slipped away. "_E__t quaerite in collibus undas. Invenire anima. Veni __foras! I vocare te!_" Satan chanted. In a matter of moments, a poof of smoke appeared, and when it cleared, on the ground, a confused Amaymon layed. "Don't run away. I can always summon you back here. Know your place, son of Asmodeus, Prince of Hell, and demon of revenge."

"Che... Whatever..." Amaymon ignored.

"Son, that it not how you show respect to the Ruler of Hell. Shame, you should know better than that, my son." Asmodeus shamed.

"O'mighty Satan, I'm so terribly sorry... It won't happen again..." Amaymon said sarcastically. Amaymon could feel the millions of glares staring down upon him, but he didn't give a damn about them.

"Satan-sama, the Great Earl Furfur wishes to see you, and Mephistopheles-sama." a small demon girl announced to the demons.

"You got lucky this time, Prince Amaymon."

* * *

Gakuko walked out of the room, her head hanging low. She closed the door, and screamed. "WHY?! WHY?! WHY~?! WHY DID THEY ALL HAVE TO DIE?! TELL ME, AMAYMON! IS THIS MY PUNISHMENT?! AMAYMON!... Amaymon!... Amaymon..." Gakuko started to cry.

"I'm right here, so stop crying, baka." Amaymon commanded, as he stood up from the couch. Gakuko ran to him, and hugged him.

"They're all gone... Everyone... Please... Please don't leave me, Amaymon... You're all I have left..." Gakuko pleaded.

"Of course I'll stay by you, Gakuko. There's no way I would leave you." Amaymon began petting Gakuko's hair, trying to get her to calm down.

"Thank you... Amaymon..."

_What is this feeling?_

* * *

"It was a pleasure seeing you today, Satan-sama, Mephistopheles-sama," Fufur, a demon with black hair that had white streaks down the front and orange-gold eyes, said.

"The pleasure is all ours," Satan insisted.

"Have a wonderful day, Great Earl Furfur," Mephisto smiled at Furfur as he held the door open for him. When Furfur walked out, Mephisto closed the door, and leaned against it. "Father, you were saying something about a girl?"

"Huh? What are you talking about, Mephisto?" Satan turned, and looked at his son.

"When Amaymon was here. You said something about a girl," Mephisto reminded his father.

"Oh that? It's just a girl that Amaymon has being sticking around. Why do you want to know?" Satan explained.

"It's nothing... Just curious..."

* * *

"Amaymon, I want," Gakuko began. Amaymon loosened his hold on her, and looked down at her face. "I want to become stronger. Stronger so that I have the power to take down the enemies that confront us. Stronger so I can protect those who are dear to me. Stronger so that... No one else has to die..."

"Gakuko..." Amaymon murmered.

"I want to protect everyone's souls... I want to get back at the Nishiki Empire, Amaymon..." Gakuko announced, determined.

"I'll train you." Amaymon stated. Gakuko looked up at the demon, her eyes wide.

"You will?" Gakuko asked, happiness began lighting within her eyes, and a smile began to appear across her face.

"Well, I'll try my best, but I think other demons would probably be better at teaching you than me..." Amaymon admitted.

"You're the best, Amaymon! Thank you so much!" Gakuko jumped, and squeezed him tightly.

"Ack! Gakuko! Let go! I'm going to die again!" Amaymon yelled. Then, the two fell over onto the ground. Gakuko let go, and sat up on Amaymon. She laughed, and had a bright smile on her face.

_I just want to protect that smile of hers. _

"Okay, let's get going." Amaymon got up, and dusted off his pants.

"Going where?" Gakuko looked at Amaymon, her face slightly confused and sad. "Do we have to leave the village?"

"Well yeah, if we're going to see the other demons, we have to travel to them. I highly doubt they're gonna come to us." Amaymon explained.

"But... I don't wanna leave everyone like this... Can I at least bury everyone?" Gakuko pleaded.

"We don't have that kind of time, Gakuko!" Amaymon yelled.

"What do you mean? We don't have to leave right away, right?!" Gakuko insisted.

"We don't know what may happen, we have to leave as soon as possible. A storm could occur for all we know! We have to get moving as soon as we can!" Amaymon exclaimed.

"But..." Gakuko tried to come up with words to convey her feelings, but nothing came to mind.

"Look, we don't have all the time in the world. We have to begin training right away, Gakuko! What do you want me to do, stop time here in this village so that the bodies don't decay?" Amaymon said sarcastically.

"That's it! You can do that right?" Gakuko jumped up, and clinged onto Amaymon's shoulders.

"Huh?" Amaymon looked at her, confused.

"Stop time! You're a demon so you can do that right? Just use those powers of yours!" Gakuko got close up to his face. "You can do that for me, right?"

"Gakuko," Amaymon pushed her away from his face. "Demons don't all have the same powers. The demon that has the power to stop time isn't me. The Great Duke of Hell, Vual, would be the one you're looking for." Amaymon explained.

"Then let's go find him!" Gakuko announced, determination flaring in her eyes.

"Uh... Ok then... I'll go see if I can get in contact with him... Just stay here... And I'll do all the dirty work. _Ad infernum... __Ianuae magicae!_" With that there was a poof and he was gone.

* * *

Back in Hell...

"What? You need my help?" the demon with long, silvery-blonde, curly hair, and deep, emerald green eyes questioned.

"I need you to stop time for me, 'kay?" Amaymon informed the Duke.

"I'm feeling generous today, and that's not a good feeling, so I'll do it for you. Just this once." Vual agreed.

"Thanks, Vual."

_Hopefully, I have enough power to protect that bright smile that brings light into my damned life...  
Can I do this? I don't want to screw up again... I don't want to repeat my past...  
Please... I don't want to be alone..._

* * *

Author Note: Lots of events in this chapter... I suppose... More of Amaymon's character has been revealed, and lots of new demons as well in this chapter. Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review!

Character Profiles:

Character Profile #12:  
Name: コゲ犬 (Kogeinu)  
Age: 88 dog years  
Personality: loyal, and friendly  
Appearance: gray and white fur with blue-gray eyes  
Other facts: he's a dog (husky)

Character Profile #13:  
Name: アスモデウス (Asmodeus)  
Age: ?  
Personality: father-son complex, and flirtatious  
Appearance: short-medium pitch black hair that has bangs that comes down between his purple-pink-red eyes, and demon horns that stick upwards on both sides of his head  
Other facts: you don't want to know...

Character Profile #14:  
Name: サタン (Satan)  
Age: ?  
Personality: mysterious, no one really knows anything else...  
Appearance: short white hair in the back, but the hair that came over his shoulders fell to about his chest, icy light blue eyes, and pointy ears  
Other facts: he is the ruler of hell

Character Profile #15:  
Name: メフィストフェレス (Mephistopheles)  
Age: ?  
Personality: no one knows his true personality...  
Appearance: short white hair in the back, but the hair that came over his shoulders fell to about his feet, light red-pink eyes, and a single demon horn that stuck out from his forehead  
Other facts: he's the son of Satan

Character Profile #16:  
Name: ベルフェゴール (Belphegor)  
Age: ?  
Personality: lazy, sloth-like  
Appearance: messy, medium long black hair, and golden eyes  
Other facts: one of the princes of hell that represents sloth

Character Profile #17:  
Name: ファルファル (Furfur)  
Age: ?  
Personality: no one really knows  
Appearance: black hair that had white streaks down the front and orange-gold eyes  
Other facts: in demon form appears as a winged hart

Character Profile #18:  
Name: ぶある (Vual)  
Age: ?  
Personality: sort of lazy but is always there for others  
Appearance: long, silvery-blonde, curly hair, and deep, emerald green eyes  
Other facts: enjoys messing around with Amaymon

Mr. Disclaimer-Man: YYuuuukkaannddaa doesn't own Vocaloid, nor these demon names.

Mr. Sound-Effect: *Last Gift by SHINee* (I don't own~!)


	7. Time Starts Moving Along

Author Note: I'm tired, and bored so I decided to start this chapter~ Wish me luck... Not much is going to happen in this chapter... Since I'm being lazy... Sue me.

* * *

Recap:

"_Thanks, Vual."_

Hopefully, I have enough power to protect that bright smile that brings light into my damned life...  
Can I do this? I don't want to screw up again... I don't want to repeat my past...  
Please... I don't want to be alone...

* * *

One step at a time, our heroine is getting closer, and closer to reaching her goal. Getting through the good times and the bad times, it all brings her closer...to the day...where she can finally take revenge for the death of her loved ones... But will she ever be able to do it?

* * *

"Do you think I could go to hell and see all your friends?"

"Huh?" Amaymon looked and turned at the girl. "Is this a joke? Do you want to die early? Well, okay, whatever floats your boat."

"I was kidding," Gakuko stated, plainly.

"Aw, I'm so disappointed. We could have live together in hell forever~," Amaymon sarcastically said.

"I see my suspicions were correct, Amaymon. You do have an interest in this girl." A new voice had entered the conversation.

"Damn you Vual. Why do you have such bad timing?" Amaymon cursed.

"I don't hear denial~ It must be true~ You~ like~ her~" Vual teased.

"No, Vual, I don't. She's just my shrine maiden, for crying out loud." Amaymon rolled his eyes at Vual, and sighed.

"Aw that's no fun," Vual pouted, "I don't get to tease little Amaymon anymore."

"Um... excuse me... Vual was it?" Gakuko popped in.

"Oh, that's right. I never formally introduced myself to you have I, Gakuko. I am the Great Duke of Hell who commands thirty-seven demon legions. I've heard a lot about you from the other princes of hell. Especially Lover-Boy-Here's father, Asmodeus," Vual introduced.

"But Asmodeus doesn't know anything! How could he have told you about Gakuko?" Amaymon questioned.

"Oh, after your little pop in, he did some research on Gakuko. He knows everything now," Vual explained.

"Everything?" Gakuko's eyes light up. "So he knows all about the past of my father? And my family?"

"He knows everything about you, and your relationship with his son, not your family. He doesn't care about your family background," Vual explained.

"Anyways, Vual, thanks for agreeing to this. I still don't understand why she wants to stop time in the village but she does so you're going to make that happen," Amaymon told the Duke.

"As you wish, my prince." Vual walked towards Amaymon, and stopped by his side. Then he whispered, "I see an endless sea of sadness, and loneliness with a single singing raven in your future. This isn't going to end well, Amaymon. Don't get too attached to this girl."

"I'm not going to, Vual. She's just my shrine maiden. That's all there is to it. I'm a demon, and demons don't fall in love," Amaymon stated.

"Just be careful, alright?" Vual warned.

"Whatever..." Amaymon walked over to Gakuko. She looked back at him and smiled.

"Thanks Amaymon for all this. You've been a great help," Gakuko thanked Amaymon.

"I haven't done anything. It's all been your power, not mine," Amaymon said. Then, Gakuko hugged Amaymon, making him blush slightly, and turn his focus to the ground.

"Aw... That's so cute, I think I'm going to puke," a voice that went from girly to utter disgust commented. At the sound of those words, Gakuko immediately let go of her grip on Amaymon, and turned her red face away from Amaymon towards the floor.

"Malphas, why did you decide to visit now? I'm not in the mood for your company, right now," Amaymon said to the demon that had short, black hair, and piercing blue eyes who was leaning against the door frame.

"But buddy, I just wanted to come by and say hi, is that such a crime? And I come here, and see some girl all over you. Disgusting. Truly. Disgusting," Malphas gagged, "I hate romance. All that 'I love you' shit makes me want to puke. How can you live with this Vual?! You're a demon!"

"Well, it's fun to tease lil' Amaymon~!" Vual exclaimed.

"Vual! Can we please get back to what you came here to do?" Amaymon interrupted.

"Fine, fine..." Vual agreed, "So, what area would you like me to stop the time in?"

"This village here," Gakuko replied.

"For how long?" Vual asked.

"Uh... Well I'm not sure..." Gakuko admitted.

"Not sure? C'mon. You should of decided this before I came, sheesh," Vual stated.

"When Kamui Gakupo is dead," Amaymon stated. The room got silent for a few seconds. "When Kamui Gakupo is dead, and Gakuko returns to the village."

"Is that your final choice?" Vual questioned.

"Yes," Amaymon answered.

"Okay, I still need something to start the time," Vual pointed out.

"When we leave the town then," Amaymon said. He looked at Gakuko who was looking at the room where Luki layed, and Kogeinu still whining over his master's death.

"Amaymon... I want... I want to let Kogeinu die first, before the time stops. He wants to die by his master. Kogeinu is not going to live much longer anyways. He's an old dog now," Gakuko explained.

"Ugh, how many requests to you have, woman?" Amaymon complained.

"I know I'm being selfish... I'm sorry, Amaymon, Vual. But please... I just want to leave things at a peaceful state so that when I return, everything is peaceful." Gakuko pleaded. She looked at the demon, her bright, purple orbs that had tints of sadness in them looked at him sincerely. "Please?..."

"I can do that, if it's okay with you, Amaymon," Vual pointed out.

"Fine, fine, whatever," Amaymon agreed, "As long as we can get moving on as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Amaymon." Gakuko walked over, and gave Amaymon another hug.

"Excuse me! But I'm still here, you know," Malphas coughed. Gakuko let go of Amaymon quickly, and started slowly inching away from him. "You know, I'm done here. I'm not going to deal with this romance crap that's happening around here. _Ad infernum... __Ianuae magicae!_" And with that puff of smoke, the demon was gone.

"Why did he even visit me in the first place? Well okay then, Malphas, be like that," Amaymon commented.

"When do you guys plan on leaving?" Vual asked the two.

"As soon as possible. I can't have the possibility of something occurring that could get in our way. We have to leave soon," Amaymon explained.

"Amaymon, do you think I could visit the shrine first?" Gakuko requested.

"N-" Amaymon opened his mouth to speak, but then looked at Gakuko. Her purple eyes started into his damned soul. "Fine, as long as it doesn't take that long."

"Thank you, Amaymon!" Gakuko leaned for a hug, but pulled back because of all the interruptions from before due to Malphas' hatred towards romance.

"Call me back when you guys need me... I'm gonna go take a nap, 'night you guys," Vual stated, " _Ad infernum... __Ianuae magicae..._"

"Okay then, let's head out now so we don't waste time," Amaymon suggested.

"Alright then!" Gakuko exclaimed, excited. Then, the two headed off into the direction of the Oni mountain range.

* * *

"How much longer do we have to walk? C'mon, this is taking forever," Amaymon complained.

"Are you tired already? We barely started walking," Gakuko retorted.

"Demons don't get tired, plus, most of the time I teleport to places. I almost never walk," Amaymon pointed out.

"You have such a carefree life. You know, there are some people out there who have to do a little work." Gakuko told Amaymon.

"That sounds tiring. Just listening to you talk about it is tiring," Amaymon commented.

"Can you stop complaining? We're almost there," Gakuko said.

"How much longer?" Amaymon asked.

"A few miles," Gakuko replied.

"Eh?! I can't do that! I'm too lazy!" Amaymon yelled.

"Come on! Get your lazy butt going, Amaymon!" Gakuko exclaimed. A few more minutes of this yelling back and forth in between the two continued. After a while, they found themselves at the foot of the Fukushu Mountain.

"So what now?" Amaymon questioned.

"We climb, duh," Gakuko answered.

"What?! Oh fuck no, there is no way in hell that _I_ am going to climb _that_ thing," Amaymon retorted.

"Well too bad then," Gakuko said with a baby voice, "Let's have a race. Whoever gets to the top wins, and the loser has to go buy food for both of us, is it a deal?"

"I guess so," Amaymon agreed.

"I'll even give you a head start how about that? You lazy bum," Gakuko offered.

"I guess I shall then accept your offer, and start my ascent right now," Then, just like that, he sped off. Gakuko, who had a little more knowledge of the place, headed towards the elevator, and hit the button that read "TOP". When she arrived at the top, she looked out at the magnificent presunset view as she waited for the poor demon that didn't know anything about the elevator to arrive. She looked out at the sky, and saw the starting to turn orange sky that still had a majority of a beautiful, light blue. Then, the sound of footsteps pounding on the ground startled Gakuko.

"Finally... done... Man, I've never done so much work in my life... Huh..." Amaymon said.

"What took so long, Amaymon? AKA the person buying food tonight," Amaymon's eyes widen, and Gakuko made a playful face at the demon.

"H-How did you get up here so quickly?!" Amaymon yelled, shocked at the girl's "speed".

"Oh, did I not tell you? There was an elevator right there," Gakuko informed Amaymon.

"No... As a matter of fact... You didn't tell me... That there was a motherfucking elevator right there, next to the stairs!" Amaymon screamed, causing what seemed to be the whole world to get quiet.

"Sheesh, someone's being a little moody today... I was kidding around about the whole deal thing anyways," Gakuko admitted. Amaymon just tried to ignore the fact that he just ran up about three miles up a mountain just to be tricked, and moved on to looking out at the view.

"So, are you done here? It's weird standing in front of my own shrine. Although, it's nice to see that it's still in good condition. It's just like the way it was last time I saw it years and years back," Amaymon commented. Gakuko and Amaymon stood there, and talked while they looked at Amaymon's shrine of revenge. "We should get going, it's sunset, so dark should be falling soon," Amaymon pointed out.

"Yeah, you're right. We better get going," Gakuko agreed. As the two started their walk towards the elevator, a man wearing a pair of black sweats, and a hoodie walked by.

"_Hehe..." _A voice laughed. The voice startled Amaymon, but it seemed that Gakuko didn't hear a thing. Amaymon looked back at the man that walked by but couldn't see anything that could possibly identify him since he had his hood up.

"_That voice... That man... The voice, I swear, belongs to Mephistopheles... But that man..."_ Amaymon tried to remember his face that he saw as they passed by. _"I'm certain of it... That man...was Kamui Gakupo."_

"Amaymon?" Gakuko turned back, and looked at the paused Amaymon. "Is something the matter?"

"It's...it's nothing..." Amaymon reassured.

* * *

When the two got back to the house, Vual was already there to greet them. "Are you guys ready to go now?"

"But I need to pack!" Gakuko said.

"Pack? All you need is yourself. Clothes aren't necessary since I can get clothes from someone down in hell. As for food. That's what hunting's for." Amaymon explained.

"Fine..." Gakuko gave in, "But wait, I was going to wear my shrine maiden outfit when I finally take Kamui Gakupo down. And what about all these other things that I planned to take along with me?"

"Come back when you are ready and get them." Amaymon told her, "Since the time won't start again until Kamui Gakupo is dead, and you won't need these things until that day, it should be fine."

"Okay, I have to go to the top of the town if you want me to cast the spell," Vual explained. The group left to the meadow at the far north of the town.

"We will walk along this pathway here that I found," Amaymon stated, "Also, Vual, give me a Temporal Sphere. I want to be able to watch the town to see when you start the freezing of time, and to see if anything goes wrong."

"Alright then," And with a little wave of his hand, a sphere appeared in front of Vual. It was a small, silvery ball that could fit in the palm of someone's hand. "Take care of it, 'kay?"

"Start the spell, Vual," Amaymon commanded. Vual sat down onto the ground and got into position to start the spell.

"You aren't my boss," Vual imputed before he started the spell as he shut his eyes, "_Sit tempus esto eis in oboediebant. Sit haec aetas veneris ad reponunt. Ut veniat ad flumen frigore. Consisteret!_" Then a bubble formed around the village. Vual started floating into the air, and his moved to the top of the bubble. The sphere started showing an image of the town which still wasn't in a frozen state yet.

"Well let's go then."

* * *

Author Note: OKAY DONE! WOO~! FINISHED YET ANOTHER CHAPTER~! PLEASE REVIEW! Well, in a few days I will be in Japan and I will not be back until August. I probably won't get around updating when I get back because I will be very busy once I'm back and rested since school would be right around the corner. I'll try to find some spare time here and there to write. But anyways, I'll be in Japan with a friend of mine who is also a writer here so both of us probably won't update until we get back. Sorry for the delay.

Character Profiles:

Character Profile #19:  
Name: 丸ファズ (Malphas)  
Age: ?  
Personality: mysterious, usually bad-tempered  
Appearance: medium-short, black hair, and piercing blue eyes  
Other facts: hates romance more than anything in the world, and can make a person go insane

Mr. Disclaimer-Man: YYuuuukkaannddaa doesn't own Vocaloid.

Mr. Sound-Effect: *Angel by EXO* (I don't own~)


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